Fashion Photographer Spotlight: Carey Haider

Published January 4, 2011•Updated on July 6, 2011 at 11:39 am

Carey Haider

There's a certain rawness to photographer Carey Haider's photos, a caught-off-guard quality that captures a defiant, even brazenly seductive confidence in his models. Surely, it's a difficult mood for an artist to render, but Haider, an Oregon native, pulls it off with bad boy swagger, and never fails to give his subjects -- as well as the clothes -- a distinct "of-the-moment" appeal.

Though his images are often edgy (or, at the very least, half-naked) Haider is hardly a shock artist. Rather, he's a bit of a punk rock patriot, describing his aesthetic to us as "grotesque and perverse Americana." Haider elaborated by saying that he is an artist "in love with taxidermy, old chopper Harleys, road trips, rock n' roll ... The style of photography I do reflects the life I live."

And what a life it must be: Haider appears to be plugged into that elusive culture of youth and unkempt style that was embodied by Kate Moss in the '90s and perfected by Lou Doillon today. Appropriately, Haider's creative process is reminiscent of fellow bad boy artists like Hunter S. Thompson and Terry Richardson: "Whatever happens on each set usually depends on who is involved and where we are," Haider told us. "Usually whiskey, stopping at casinos, and motorcycle rides get intertwined into the mix. I like to keep it fun."